Content Warning: The songs in this collection were amassed to document the history of the United States through sheet music. Therefore, users of the collection will find many songs with explicitly racist, xenophobic, sexist, and other offensive content—this includes content related to minstrel shows. The minstrel show was a racist form of popular entertainment that surfaced in the 19th century. These shows featured skits of performers in blackface, caricaturing African Americans with mock dialects and parody lyrics. Minstrel shows quickly became a dominant form of American entertainment for decades, both on stage and in the home. While this subject matter is in many cases reprehensible, it is preserved here to honestly and accurately reflect prejudice found in the collection-- even as we recognize that encountering harmful or offensive language is difficult or painful. Strong consideration should be given to a song’s history and context prior to a public performance.

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